14
Listen to Your Heart

PART OF HUMAN nature is trying to make sense of the world. To do this, we apply mathematical properties, the principles of cause and effect, deductive reasoning, scientific inquiry, the laws of physics, and other time-tested tools to provide insight into how and why things happen. Yet there is still a lot that we don’t understand and can’t easily reduce to logic or linear equations. For example, why do coincidences happen? What is luck? Does karma really exist?

When we can’t explain something through science or logic, we instinctively call it a mystery, an anomaly, a miracle, magic, or fate. In essence, we are inclined to find a reason for everything that happens to us in life, even in the absence of rational explanation. This quest for meaning leads us not only to contemplate the random occurrences in our life but to consider acting on them as well. In other words, we must be open to listening to our heart and taking an unforeseen path in life when the opportunity presents itself—even though we have no guarantees about where that path will lead. This, of course, has implications for regrets: if taking this path does not work out the way I had hoped, will I regret it? Or alternatively, if I don’t take this path, will I regret not knowing where it would have led and possibly miss a life-changing opportunity?

I encountered a defining moment like this while walking down the street with my friend Barry when I was twenty-three years old. As he and I came to a crowded intersection, I noticed a tow truck pulling up to a car parked in front of Moe’s, a popular restaurant in town. Instantly my gaze turned to the girl who was leaning against the passenger door of the car with an embarrassed look on her face. She was a vision of beauty: vibrant, radiant, and full of life.

Call it love at first sight, but I was instantly overcome by a powerful, intuitive sensation that I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with this woman whom I had never met and hadn’t even talked to yet. I tried to shrug off this irrational thought, but something deep inside me told me I would regret it if I didn’t go up to her. Again I fought the urge as I then considered how much I would also regret it if I made a total fool of myself. It was too late—I was drawn to her like a magnet and within moments was trading casual hellos with her.

Just when I thought the conversation was over, she proceeded to spill the details of the unfolding drama. Apparently her friend, the driver of the vehicle, was so excited to find such a prime parking space in front of Moe’s that she locked the keys in the car—with the car running! Her face lit up as she recounted the story, and we both laughed as my friend Barry, attempting to play tow truck driver’s assistant, accidentally ripped the weather stripping off the car’s driver side window. Somewhere during our five-minute dialogue, I realized that there really was something special about this girl and that I never wanted to leave her side. While I couldn’t explain it logically in my head, my heart was telling me that it was simply meant to be.

The encounter ended with an exchange of business cards. We got to know each other better over the phone for the next couple of weeks, and then we went on our first date just down the street from the spot where we had met. The rest is history. More than twenty years later, I still look back in wonder: I literally met my future wife while walking down a random street. Was it just a chance occurrence? Was it destiny? Or was there some rational explanation? If I had arrived just ten minutes earlier or later—or if I had walked down a different street or not taken a walk at all—I may have never met her. All I know is that I’m glad I listened to my heart in the end.

Some things can’t be explained by science or probability tables. We simply do not know everything that life has in store for us. But when seemingly random events occur, be cognizant of not only what they may mean but also what new paths they may present for you. In other words, be open to the possibilities you have yet to discover so you don’t regret missing an opportunity that could change your life. Listen to your heart and see where it leads you.

Listen to your heart
and see where
it leads you.

∼ When have you failed to listen to your heart and what was the result?

∼ What is an example of a time when listening to your heart paid off?